Joint Review: Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Title: Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles #6)
Author: Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Ray
Acquired Via: Purchase
Release Date: November 27, 2012
For a two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan is a pretty fast runner. Good thing, because he’s being chased by not one but two goddesses of the hunt—Artemis and Diana—for messing with one of their own. Dodging their slings and arrows, Atticus, Granuaile, and his wolfhound Oberon are making a mad dash across modern-day Europe to seek help from a friend of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His usual magical option of shifting planes is blocked, so instead of playing hide-and-seek, the game plan is... run like hell.

Crashing the pantheon marathon is the Norse god Loki. Killing Atticus is the only loose end he needs to tie up before unleashing Ragnarok—AKA the Apocalypse. Atticus and Granuaile have to outfox the Olympians and contain the god of mischief if they want to go on living—and still have a world to live in.

Our Review

You can read Amber's review of Trapped (IDC #5) HERE.

*WARNING* There will be spoilers for books in the series prior to Hunted, so if you have not read this far in the series
- DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200! - If you keep going and highlight the black bits, you'll get spoilers for Hunted, too.
***
Amber: I enjoyed Hunted a lot more than I did Trapped, even though Hunted had a few heartbreaking surprises. I cannot believe that the Morrigan basically committed suicide!

Kayla: I liked Hunted a lot better, too. I never got around to reviewing Trapped because I had a lot of bitterness issues with Granuaile, (Atticus is my boyfriend!) but I got over it for the most part. I guess hearing Luke Daniels (the audiobook narrator) as Oberon saying “Hello, Clever Girl” won me over at the end of the previous book. Still – too much bitterness for me to write a glowing review as a Kevin Hearne fangirl. But, OMG the Morrigan! And so early in the book, too… *sigh* I may’ve cried a little, but it was a little overdone.

Amber: I think I may have a crush on Luke Daniels. He’s one of the most gifted narrators I’ve listened to. I continuously get surprised when he switches around in more than five accents in one book. Plus, he totally nails what I think a dog would sound like if a dog could actually talk.

Kayla: Oh, I definitely have a crush on Luke Daniels! Plus, he’s also visually appealing – isn’t he dreamy?

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): The Sowing by K. Makansi

Title: The Sowing
Author: K. Makansi
Publisher: Layla Dog Press
Release Date: December 1, 2013
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Remy Alexander was born into the elite meritocracy of the Okarian Sector. From an early age, she and her friends were programmed for intellectual and physical superiority through specialized dietary regimes administered by the Okarian Agricultural Consortium. But when her older sister Tai was murdered in a brutal classroom massacre, her parents began to suspect foul play. They fled the Sector, taking their surviving daughter underground to join the nascent Resistance movement. But now, three years later, Remy’s former schoolgirl crush, Valerian Orleán, is put in charge of hunting and destroying the Resistance. As Remy and her friends race to unravel the mystery behind her sister’s murder, Vale is haunted by the memory of his friendship with Remy and is determined to find out why she disappeared. As the Resistance begins to fight back against the Sector, and Vale and Remy search for the answers to their own questions, the two are set on a collision course that could bring everyone together—or tear everything apart.

In this science-fiction dystopia, the mother-daughter writing team of Kristina, Amira, and Elena Makansi immerses readers in the post-apocalyptic world of the Okarian Sector where romance, friendship, adventure, and betrayal will decide the fate of a budding nation.

My Review

Don't you hate it when you're writing a review and you have this blank page glaring back at you. I've been having a staring contest with this review of The Sowing because I don't really quite know how I feel about it. The world-building is good, I guess the science works for me, and the writing is alright, but I lacked any sort of connection with the characters.

Waiting on Wednesday (33): Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Murder of Crows (The Others #2)
Author: Anne Bishop
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: March 4, 2014
After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.


I read the first in this series, Written in Red, earlier this year and absolutely loved it. It was my first Anne Bishop book, and I really enjoyed the world that she created. It was dark and had real monsters who ate people instead of trying to play nice. I have since read another of Bishop's series, which I also really enjoyed, and I can definitely tell the similarities in her characters. I am interested in seeing more of this unique world, and I am also interested in seeing how this book will compare and contrast with Bishop's other series.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Trapped by Kevin Hearne

Title: Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles #5)
Author: Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Ray
Acquired Via: Library
Release Date: November 27, 2012
After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave.

Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.

My Review

You can read Kayla’s review of Tricked (IDC #4) HERE.

*WARNING* There will be spoilers for books in the series prior to Trapped , so if you have not read this far in the series DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200.

I am so grateful that Hearne decided to skip forward 12 years between Tricked and Trapped. While I love Granuaile, I think I would have become incredibly frustrated during 12 years of training. First, because the tension between Granuaile and Atticus is quickly becoming annoying, as are Atticus’s reasons for abstaining from any sort of relationship other than teacher-student. Second, because Granuaile has for the past few novels been a sort of sidekick character who is mostly a hindrance. This is actually brought up during Trapped, and Granuaile gets quite pissed for basically being called a damsel in distress. I’m really glad that she gets a chance of becoming a bad-ass in her own right, even before becoming a full druid (she throws knives and fights with a staff!).

Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Authors Read In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2013



1. Harper Lee
Author of To Kill a Mockingbird
I can’t believe I waited until after I graduated from law school and became a lawyer before I ever read this book. This really is a book that everyone should read as it displays the best and worst of humans in general and Americans in particular – bravery and honesty and racism and hatred.

Promo Blitz (Giveaway): Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Title: Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Blast Organizer: Kismet Book Touring
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Life. Death. And...Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma — the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia — New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love?


Praise for Heartbeat

“An intense examination of a family coping with grief, this absorbing character study easily keeps pages turning.” — Kirkus

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound


About the Author

Book Blast (Giveaway): Lovers at Heart by Melissa Foster

Title: Lovers at Heart (Love in Bloom: Snow Sisters & The Bradens #4)
Author: Melissa Foster
Publisher: World Literary Press
Book Blast Organizer: Book Nerd Tours
Release Date: October 26, 2013
**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+** Lovers at Heart is a steamy contemporary romance with alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They’re flawed, funny, passionate, and very relatable for readers who enjoy adult romance, contemporary romance, and women’s fiction. Enjoy Lovers at Heart as a stand-alone novel or for more enjoyment, read the entire Love and Bloom series (nine full-length novels featuring the Snow Sisters and the Bradens).

Handsome, wealthy resort owner Treat Braden is used to getting what he wants. When Max Armstrong walked into his life six months earlier, he saw right through the efficient and capable façade she wore like a shield, to the sweet, sensual woman who lay beneath. She sparked an unfamiliar desire in him for more than a one-night stand, leaving his heart reeling and his blood boiling. But one mistake caused her to turn away, and now, after six months of longing for the one woman he cannot have, he’s going home to try to forget her all together.

Max Armstrong has a successful career, a comfortable lifestyle, and she’s never needed a man to help her find her way–until Treat Braden caught her attention at a wedding in Nassau, causing a surge of emotions too reminiscent of the painful past she’d spent years trying to forget. Max will do anything to avoid reliving that pain–including forgoing her toe-curling, heart-pounding desire for Treat.

When a chance encounter turns into a night of intense passion, Treat realizes that the mistake he made six months earlier may cause him to lose Max completely. He will do everything within his power to win her heart forever–and Max is forced to face her hurtful past head on for the man she cannot help but love.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble


About the Author

December New Release Giveaway Hop (INT)

Welcome to my stop on the December New Release Giveaway Hop! As always, it is being hosted by the magnificent O'Dell at Book Twirps and the glorious Dani at Refracted Light Reviews.

What You Can Win

This month I am featuring some December new releases that I have already reviewed (or has a forthcoming review) here on Bibliophilia, Please. You will be able to choose one of the four books, if you are the winner. Here are the books, and you can see my review for each by clicking on the picture:


The Giveaway